Chellee Odelya Overdrive

Aimed at players who want some serious versatility from an overdrive pedal, the Odelya ($175 direct) features interchangeable modules ($17-$21 each) that work in conjunction with a 3-way Mode switch to provide a myriad of overdrive and distortion flavors.

Aimed at players who want some serious versatility from an overdrive pedal, the Odelya ($175 direct) features interchangeable modules ($17-$21 each) that work in conjunction with a 3-way Mode switch to provide a myriad of overdrive and distortion flavors. Along with the Mode switch, the Odelya’s controls include Drive, Tone, and Volume, a 3-position Bass switch, and an internal switch that selects 18-volt operation. This voltage doubling option enhances the headroom and output, and it even works when running on a 9-volt battery. Noise is kept to a minimum thanks to the use of low-noise audiophile-grade components, and the circuit board is anchored to the chassis for ruggedness and reliability.

Starting with the stock “white” module, the Odelya delivered everything from potent clean boost (middle Mode setting) to smooth, saturated tube-style distortion (left Mode setting) to edgier sounding British-style grind (right Mode setting). The Bass switch is quite effective, and can boost the lows significantly for metal or other bottom heavy styles, or provide a more modest amount of enhancement (or none at all) for optimum response with humbuckers and single-coils. The Tone control is well voiced, and has plenty of range to accommodate those who want buttery distortion or more edgy types of grind. The other modules (red, yellow, green, and blue) each have a dramatic effect on the Odelya’s distortion character, output level, and dynamics. I’d probably opt for the blue module’s more tubeinflected sounds, and the green module with its germanium diodes also provides some interesting—if not all useable—flavors of fuzz. All told, the Odelya is a tweaker’s dream come true, so if you’re the type who likes the idea of being able to radically alter the parameters of your gear, this distortion/ overdrive pedal is definitely worth checking out.